IIHF mourns delegates

Armenian, Georgian officials killed in accident on way to congress

The IIHF was deeply saddened by the information that delegates from the Ice Hockey Associations of Armenia and Georgia died in a car accident on their way to the Semi-Annual Congress in Tunis.

Karen Khachatryan (President), his wife Gayane Harutyunyan and their son Levon Khachatryan from Armenia, and Denis Davidov (Vice-President), Lasha Tsagareishvili (General Secretary) and his wife Teo Berdzenishvili from Georgia drove in a jeep to Istanbul, Turkey, to catch the flight to Tunis, Tunisia.

In the region of Erzincan in eastern Turkey, 300 km from the border to Armenia and Georgia, the six persons were victims of a head-on collision with a bus on Tuesday at 2:45am on the Erzurum-Erzincan highway.

The International Ice Hockey Federation expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and to the national member associations of Armenia and Georgia.

IIHF President René Fasel:

"This horrific news was conveyed to us during our council meetings in Tunis. We are all shocked and totally devastated by it. Our prayers are with the families of the deceased delegates. The IIHF family is in mourning."